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velocipedia's review
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
"If a man flies in Jamaica, and only the poor will admit to seeing it, has he still flown?"
Well I've never read a book quite like this. You can tell Miller is a poet, and the prose is honestly stunning.
(Read for StoryGraph's 2024 Read the World Challenge. Prompt: Jamaica)
Well I've never read a book quite like this. You can tell Miller is a poet, and the prose is honestly stunning.
(Read for StoryGraph's 2024 Read the World Challenge. Prompt: Jamaica)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, and Police brutality
Minor: Rape and Abortion
sydneyjn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm so glad I found Kei Miller. I'm not generally a fan of poetry, but a poetic novel? Yes please. This could only have been set in Jamaica. While the overarching story is a race/class conflict, it's told through the day to day lives of the people it impacts. I listened to the audio book, and Dona Croll was a stunning narrator.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Classism
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, and Suicide
Minor: Abortion
chattie_the_mad_chatter's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book is a different genre to what I usually read. It felt like folklore, local history to a country and culture I know nothing about, so I appreciate being able to learn and be let in through reading this.
I enjoyed the story craft, through storytelling and weaving in and out of past and present and through different characters. There is a main plot point that holds them together, but if you enjoy a linear story or a strong connection to a protagonist this may not be for you. I felt that Augstown was our main protagonist and the different characters the layers of history and lives that make it who it is. All the individual human characters felt fully realised, but we moved fluidly through them getting segments of their lives. I am a reader that likes to fully immerse in a character, so I did not get that emotionsl connection I usually want with the characters.
But that was not the story's purpose.
I enjoyed the story craft, through storytelling and weaving in and out of past and present and through different characters. There is a main plot point that holds them together, but if you enjoy a linear story or a strong connection to a protagonist this may not be for you. I felt that Augstown was our main protagonist and the different characters the layers of history and lives that make it who it is. All the individual human characters felt fully realised, but we moved fluidly through them getting segments of their lives. I am a reader that likes to fully immerse in a character, so I did not get that emotionsl connection I usually want with the characters.
But that was not the story's purpose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Abortion, and Classism
Minor: Sexual harassment
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